Graduates can’t cope with office life, say bosses

A THIRD of companies are concerned about young people’s attitude to work, a report by business leaders says today.

With many graduates and school leavers lacking the mindset and skills required to thrive in the workplace, the CBI said teachers needed to better reflect the importance of ‘attitude and aptitude for work’.

There are also worries about the literacy and numeracy skills of young employees, with firms admitting they have had to run classes for recruits. The CBI/Pearson survey of 344 firms found that 32 per cent were dissatisfied with graduates’ ‘attitudes and behaviours of self-management and resilience’, with 40 per cent saying they lacked customer awareness.

Some 33 per cent of business leaders were unhappy with the literacy of young applicants, while 29 per cent said their numeracy wasn’t up to scratch. Faced with a skills shortage, two in five businesses (41 per cent) have been forced to do remedial training for school or college leavers.

The CBI said stretching academic standards ‘should not be the sole focus’ for schools as ‘broader personal development aspects risk being pushed to the sidelines’.

Firms believe primary schools should focus on developing literacy and numeracy (67 per cent), self-management (41 per cent) and communication skills (34 per cent).

The report said: ‘Personal attitudes, aptitude, readiness to learn, effective communication skills and a sufficient capacity to cope with numerical data are the key enablers. It is critically important that all young people are helped to develop as fully as possible in these areas.’

Josh Hardie, the CBI’s deputy director general, said: ‘Quality of teaching, learning and careers inspiration defines the life chances of young people.’

Dr Mary Bousted, head of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: ‘With savage cuts to further education funding since 2009 ... it is unsurprising that businesses are struggling to find enough skilled staff.’